1. Technical Field
This invention relates to battery systems, and more specifically, the determination of the charge status of a flow battery system.
2. Discussion of Related Art
The state of charge (SOC) of a battery at any stage (charging or discharging) is a highly desirable parameter. It provides, during a charging state, information on how long the battery will take to fully charge, and also provides an input to a sophisticated charging algorithm that allows better control of a charging sequence. During discharge, the SOC provides information regarding the remaining battery lifetime. In mission critical applications, the SOC information can be used to allocate the remaining charge between critical and non-critical loads.
Therefore, there is a need to accurately determine the SOC of a battery.